Platform scale



Nov. 20, 1923. J. J. MAGRADY PLATFORM SCALE Filed A1191. ll .1922

la L vadz v INVLNTOR.

Nov' f J, J. MAGRADY PLATFORM SCALE Filed Aug. ll. 1922 3 She'ets-Sheet 2 Nov. 20 1923.

J. J. MAGRADY PLATFORM SCALE Filed Aug 11, 1922 z sheets-sheet 5 mg ATTORNEY.

Y (l a l a Patented Nov. 20, 1923.

UNITED STATES JOSEPH J. MAGRA'DY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PLATFORM SCALE.

Application filed August 11,

[o all whom 'it mal/y concern: Y l

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. MAGRADY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements infPlatiorm Scales, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to pit scales, that is wagon and automobile scales as well as scales for railroad use and thus to what are commonly known as heavy capacity scales, the improvements having to do more particularly with the pit levers, their connections and supports, with the object `in view of providing for direct transmission through simple effective levers and lever connections as well as supports in orn der to do away with the well known disadvantages of scales of this type resulting Efrom the Iusual ,complicated levers, lever connections and supports.

A further object is the provision of means whereby an accurate effectively operating scale may be maintained without the present disadvantages of frequent shut down for repair and substitution of parts and whereby durability, economy and uniormly accurate oper-ation will be promoted.

It is a well known :tact that in vconnection with railroads, mines and other industries requiring heavy capacity scales especially those of fifty or more feet in length, great diiculty is encountered in maintaining the scales as at present constructed in a uniformly accurate condition. In fact constantly increasing inaccuracy becomes noticeable almost at once on account of the great number of levers and lever connections necessitated by the systems now in use and on account of the rapid collection of dirt and dbris upon the complicated lever connections which not only promotes inaccuracy but which necessitates frequent repair and substitution in the course of which the .sc-ales cannot be used.

My present improvements aim to eliminate these defects and do away with the complicated indirect levers and connections now in use and to reduce to a minimum the number of levers required and in particular the number of bearings and connections between the levers and my invention further aims to protect such bearings and connections `as are employed, tothe end that dcterioration from Weather and-wear from the 1922. Serial No. 581,168.

approachment ot dust, dirt and foreign materials will be almost entirely eliminated.

A still furtherobjectis theprovisonfof a construction in which .thenbolting and riveting ci working Darts is eliminated andall the parts are held properly in position and in place by their own weight so that all p parts are capable of repair and substitution with `little troubley and` at the expense of minimum time duringwhich thescale must be out of commission.v

In the accompanying drawings which.

illustrate my present invention and form a part oi` this specification, y i -f i Figure l is a top plan view of the eleven lever type oiscalewith the scale deck removed, showing the various levers in place, Figure 2 is a sectional side view thereof, Figure 3 is an enlarged end view, partly in section,

Figures is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the levers at one end of the scale,

Figure 5 is aside view of the levers at one end of the scale,

Figure 6 is a sectional view through one y Figure l0 is a central section through'one of the bearing plates of the supporting pedestals, f

Figure ll is a top plan View of the bearing` plate or Figure 10,' and y Figure l2 is a top plan 'view vof the five lever type of scaleshowing the arrangement of levers for a comparatively short scale,

Referring now to these figures and particularly to the lengthy 'form ci" scale as applied for instance to railroad and lengthy' platform use, and shown in Figures l yto ll inclusive, I have shown the beam actuating lever 15 or what is commonly `known as a iii-th lever, Whose smaller outer end, projecting laterally beyond the main portion of the scale pit, may have any suitable connections with a scale beamf(not'shown), pivotally supported at its inner end, and pivotally engaged and depressed in actionA by the inner end of a pair of longitudinally disposed and alinediconnecting levers 16. Each of these connecting levers 1G is identical in strncture and, like the beam actuating lever 15, preferably of oval shape in cross section, excepting where the connections are made for the major portion of the length thereof and of tapering form. By virtue of the oval shape, the actuating connections, that is those connections engaging the levers 1G adjacent to their outer ends and the connections between the inner ends of these levers and the beam actuating lever 15, may be extended upwardly into the levers and in this way housed to an extent sufcient to protect the same from the element-s and from dirt and moisture dropping thereon.

The main supporting levers 17 are prefer'- ably of tapering tubular form and, in ac cordance with my present invention, are arranged in groups adjacent to the opposite ends of the scale, each group including four such levers in angular relationship as shown so that the levers of each group converge toward one another in an inward direction and have pivotal connections at their inner ends with the respective connecting lever 1G adjacent to the outer pivotally supported end of the latter.

For the above purposes it will be noted that each of the main supporting levers 17 is independently mounted and supported at its enlarged outer end 18 and is engaged by the scale deck or platform 19 adjacent to its said outer enlarged end 18 while its smaller inner end loosely engages a hanger or other connection 20 depending from a link 21, the latter in turn extending upwardly into the respective connecting lever 16 and over a knife bearing 22 disposed and mounted transversely through said lever 16 at a point properly spaced from its outer similarly dis posed and mounted knife bearing 23, the latter like the knife bearing 24 at the inner enlarged end of the beamV actuating lever 15, resting upon a steel 25 located in the grooved upper end of a T-bearing 26 the lower surface of the latter of which as seen in Fig ures 8 and 9, is recessed as at 27 to coact with the upper surface recesses 28 of a bearing late 29 secured upon the upper supporting surface of a truncated conical supporting pedestal 30 in practice preferably formed of concrete, each pedestal being independent of the other pedestals and of the remaining structure of the pit so that slight displacement of the walls or base of the pit or of portions thereof will not affect the proper bearing'and support of these levers nor their adaptability to freely vibrate in all directions upon the bearing balls disposed between each of the bearing plates 29 and its companion supporting T-bearing 26 and within the recesses 27 and 28. It will be noted that each bearing plate 29 has a surrounding upstanding protecting flange 31 and that each lever supporting T-bearing 26 is of slightly greater diameter than the corresponding bearing plate 29 and has a surrounding and depending protecting flange 32 adapted in practice to overlap the flange 31 of the bearing plate and thus eifectively house and protect the ball retaining space between these parts.

rlhe outer enlarged end 18 of each of the main supporting levers l has a downwardly opening recess` 33 and has near this recess an outwardly opening recess 2liand is provided with transverse knife bearings at the bases of these rec s, theouter downwardly opening revess receiving one of the nl"bear .ings 2G supported by means ot bells 35 upon one of the bearing plates the latter serured upon a pedestal :lo similar in all respe except as to heioht, to the pedestals 3l). The inner recess Z l; f cach of these niain levers il", which opens upwardly, receives the depending portion of a nibearing 25'1- vvhich as shown in Figure '.7 seated at. its upper portion against` cushion members 238 within an er arged bearing plate 39 se cured te the lower sui face of one of the deck beams i0 and having surrounding and depending flange lll which as clearly seen protects the "ibearing 37 from fallii r dirt and moisture. i'

Thus `it is obvious that by virtue of the support in conneftion with the levers as described, prrssure in action caused by lowering of the scale decl-r 19 will be applied directly through the mein levers 1T and the connecting levers 1li to the center of the scale where the c ,-nnecting levers eng e the scale beam actuating lever 17 and Ait is to be understood that where but a live lever type of scale is desired l may group the main supi'iorting levers as shown in Figure 'where the levers are indicated as l2 and directly connected at their inner ends to a beaux actuating lever #l-l so that the parts are thus identical with those previously described except 'hat the connecting levers it are omitted, leve-rs 4t2 and il beii k; constructed and supported like the levers l5 and li' of the eleven lever type of scale shown in liip ures 1 to 11 inclusive.

lt thus becomes obviousithat among its many ad vantages, rny improved scale transports the weight direct from the corners to the center' of the scale, that as direct as it possible to do so and nach lever is entirely independent instead of paralleling and depending upon other leafcrs so that :ill of the usual torsion or twisting movement of parts, such as exists for instance in a pipe lever system is eliminated and all tendency of tipping` of levers is likewise removed so as to insure even. bearings at all times.

I claim:

1. In platform scales, a centrally located 'transversely extending beam actuating lever,

a pair of connecting levers pivotally supported at their outer ends and extending longitudinally in alinement upon oppositey sides of, and connected at their inner ends to, the said beam actuating lever at a point intermediate the ends of the latter, and main supporting levers converging in groups adjacent to the outer ends of said connecting levers, each of said main levers being independently mounted and connected at the center of its respective groupto the respective connecting lever intermediate the ends of the latter.

2. In platform scales, a series of main supporting levers angularly related in a group and converging to the center of the group, said levers being of tubular tapering form and having lengthwise spaced transversely disposed knife bearings at their outer ends, a supporting pedestal on which the outer end of each lever is mounted hav ing means to receive the outer knife bearing, and platform-carried means to engage the inner knife bearing.

3. In platform scales, a series of main supporting levers arranged in a group in convergent relation, and a lever to which the inner ends of said supporting levers are connected at thefcenter of the group, each of said main supporting levers having an independent mounting at its outer end includlng a supporting pedestal, and bearing members on the pedestal one of which is engaged by the lever, having means to permit vibration of the lever horizontally in all directions.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature.

JOSEPH J. MAGRADY. 

